Page 17 of Taken for Granite
“I am covered now.” The fit of the blanket wrapped around him was like the traditional garments of his home region.
“Pants are non-negotiable,” she said with certainty. “How about food? You still hungry? Or need, I don’t know, vitamins? Water? Shoes?”
“I require additional supplements of calcium, magnesium, copper, and phosphorus. I would not decline zinc or nickel. Protein would be beneficial. I have consumed enough salt and sugar.”
“I’ll be right back.” The door opened with a squeak and slammed shut.
Tas listened to other vehicle arrive and their pilots converse with passengers and tried to ignore his aching cock. The female’s scent was concentrated in the vehicle. If he could get fresh air, just a breath, then he could clear his head and regain control of his rebellious body.
The mating gland was such an aggravating organ, stealing his concentration when he needed to focus his energy on healing. He needed his sight restored more than he needed to copulate.
No, with the way he ached, he needed to fuck. That would be the only way to purge the mating hormones from his body and restore balance. Once Juniper retrieved her sibling, they would part, and the urge would fade. Until then, he cracked open the back door and breathed in air rank with exhaust and oil.
The door opened and Juniper’s fresh scent enveloped him.
Grackhim. He needed to get away from her.
“I got sweatpants. It’s not stylish, but I was guessing at your size.” He heard the rustle of plastic, and then his female shoved a bundle of soft fabric into his chest. “Get ’em on and we can go. I also got a bottle of multivitamins and some nuts for protein.”
Tas dressed, finding the trousers a far cry from the bespoke suits he once wore.Grack, he had been such a preening peacock back in the day. “This is adequate.”
“Damn me with faint praise. Adequate,” she replied, as the vehicle rumbled to life.
The pill bottle rattled until he opened it and gulped down half the contents. Mostly cellulose and lactose, he detected correct minerals. His strength returned, but only as quickly as Khargal physiology would allow with an overactive mating gland.
He smelled death before the vehicle stopped.
“Stay,” he ordered.
“What? No way.” Juniper slid out of the vehicle, the artificial fabric creaking under her, and the door slammed. “I’m getting my sister.”
Tas followed her body heat to the building’s entrance. The coppery scent of blood permeated the air. He placed a hand on the female and pulled her back. “Do you smell that?”
“What? No.” She sniffed. “Smells like Philly.”
He grumbled. Human senses were blind in so many ways. Their sight had developed robustly but lacked in low lighting, a deficit his kind exploited for centuries. “No. Blood and gunpowder.”
The doorknob wobbled under his touch, loosened with force, and the door swung open. Juniper gasped before charging into the interior.
Let her run into an ambush. Tas waited, letting the sounds and the scent explain the trauma that unfolded. Melodic vocalizations filled the space, masking other, subtler, sounds.
“Oh my god!”
He followed the female’s voice. The smell of death intensified in the confined space. The vocalization increased in volume. It came from an electronic device, a wireless or some such.
“That’s so loud—”
“Do not touch anything,” he commanded.
“I—okay.” She pressed into him. Driven by instinct, his good wing wrapped protectively around her. Tas tried not to derive pleasure from the feel of her soft form against him or knowing she sought him out for comfort. His chest puffed with pride despite his best efforts.
“They’re all dead,” she said.
“They died recently.”
She stiffened. “How can you tell that?”
“Body heat.”
